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Episode 1 Script
A small group of soldiers and diplomats from Astanmark arrives on horseback outside Alexandria. A young boy, perhaps 15 years old, carries a decorated sword and is accompanied by 4 servants and diplomats, who themselves are escorted by 10 soldiers. Guards patrolling the walls, spot the group and because of the sheer size assume it is a diplomatic mission, sent by another nation. The lead guard, gave a notice to the other guards saying that the nation of Astanmark was expected. He then made his way, along with 15 other guards, towards the group. “Greetings, you come from Astanmark?” The group stops and one of the men steps down from his horse. "Yes! We are the envoy sent by King Rudiger. My name is Jochen Hannes, nephew of King Rudiger." The young boy steps down and keeps close to Jochen The head guard nods at this before motioning in Arabic for the gates to be opened. “We will escort you to the palace, I’m not sure if all the guards will be allowed inside but if that is the case we can provide alternative quarters, we also have a paddock for horses just outside of the palace.” The headguard then beckons the group through the walls, through the citadel and through Alexandria, passing down the wide cobbled streets with lightly coloured houses on each side. Palm trees waving in the wind whilst market stalls were busy with trade, many children were running and playing through borough squares as they approached the richer part of Alexandria. Huge sandstone houses lined the streets with roads branching off into different squares with fountains on the street. Eventually they arrived at a paddock outside of the palace. The young boy is fascinated by this foreign country. He has never been outside of Astanmark before and getting a wildly different taste of a unique culture and atmosphere has seemed to inspired something within him. The Astanian soldiers keep a respectable distance between the Aegyptians and slowly stroll through the streets, equally captivated by this new nation. The guards are happy that the visitors seemed to enjoy the stroll through Alexandria, though it was quite short. The head guard opens the gate to a huge paddock, lined with palm trees and containing hay and water. “You can keep your horses in here, when night falls we can move them to a stable.” The envoy happily complies and dismount their horses. "Are weapons permitted?" The head guard considers this, knowing that weapons played a huge part in cultures and security. “Two of you can keep your weapons, the rest must hand them in though rest assured you will receive them back at the end of your visit.” "Understood." The soldiers and the boy hand in their weapons while two of them keep theirs. “Now to the palace!” The guards seem to speed up at this motion, one might think that this is because they love it so much, but they actually love the honey cakes at the palace guardhouse more. The group walk up the long drive, lined with palm trees, to the palace. It was a magnificent glistening white building. The many plants were fed by artificial rivers, a feat of engineering by the Aegyptians. They reach the grand doors of the palace, with the structure towering above them. A singular guard pops inside before returning. “The room in which the meeting will take place, will have no guards within it, but two guards, one armed and one unarmed are permitted to wait outside.” "Fine with us." Two soldiers, one armed and one unarmed, wait outside while the 4 diplomats and young boy enter. The boy has been sweating out in the sun and frantically wipes himself before meeting the sultan. He knows first impressions are everything. The palace is a huge architectural structure, with wide corridors and high ceilings lined with gems. They are led by a servant down a corridor and into a room with doors opening out onto a massive garden. There is a table in the middle, laden with delicacies and refreshments with a sofa and chairs on either side. On the Aegyptian side, a man of around 40 is sitting on the sofa with a teenage boy of around 16 leaning on his shoulders behind it. They shared a strong jaw, dark hair and chestnut eyes, as well as the same muscular agile build. Beside them sat a darker African, with parchment and quill to hand. The diplomats enter and greet the Sultan in Arabic, although poorly. The boy enters hesitatingly and stands behind his cousin. The Sultan chuckles, and returns the greeting before switching his language to Latin. “Latin I believe should be the common tongue?” He speaks fluently, “here please take a seat.” "Yes, and thank you, your highness." The five of them plop down on the sofa rather forcefully, exhausted from the long journey they undertook. The young boy looks around and carefully examines his environment while one of the diplomats eyes the food laid out on the table. “You must be tired, please eat and drink. The drinks are specialities of Aegyptus, the pink one is an iced hibiscus tea and the orange one is apricot juice.” Malik settles himself on the sofa as Usaym joins him. “Let me introduce myself, I’m Sultan Malik and this is my son, Usaym.” "We are glad to meet both of you. We appreciate your kind hospitality greatly. I am Jochen Hannes, the nephew of King Rudiger of Astanmark. And this here is the King's son and my cousin, Gunter." The young boy looks up and sheepishly smiles Malik nods and smiles kindly at the boy, Usaym reached forward for a honey cake, but takes two, whilst his father was talking. “I invited you here as I want to extend diplomatic ties towards you, our two countries have had a good relationship in the past and I dearly hope we can have the same relationship in this present day.” "As do we, your highness. The new leadership has lots of plans that are going to be executed when possible, and we made sure that establishing cordial relations with other nations is near the top of those plans. We look forward to cooperating with Aegyptus. It is a fine nation with the richest culture we've experienced."Jochen says as he takes a drink. “Your praise is too much,” Malik smiles at the praise “I am delighted at the prospect of new plans and cooperation, and please if you are hungry do eat. Otherwise I’m afraid my son might take them all.” He mock glares at Usaym who is reaching out for another honey cake. The diplomats all chuckle and take a piece of the honey cake. "I've got to say, this is absolutely delicious. We don't have this back in Astanmark." “I shall extend that on to the palace chefs,” Malik reaches out for his own drink “I would love to know more about the new ruling family, I feel like we should have a lot in common.” "Of course. What would you like to know?" “Just perhaps the origins of the family, and what occupation they held before becoming rulers.” "Ah yes. Well, after the Alaric regime, Astanmark reverted back to its original state: a broken nation of warring tribes vying for power. My great grandfather, who is from the Belgae tribe, marched right in and restored order. He was able to unite the largest tribes into one, much like how King Astan did. We slowly rebuilt Astanmark from the ground up and now here we are." Malik nods, clearly impressed, “well that is impressive, you could never tell that happened from the state your nation is in now.” Malik looks round at his son and Gunter, “Usaym, perhaps you could show Gunter the palace gardens? This conversation might be too historical for you young ones.” Gunter smiles and simply says nothing. Jochen encourages him. "Go on, Gunter." He turns to Usaym "He's a very shy boy. Doesn't have anyone around his age except his sister." Usaym nods and stands up before grabbing another few honey cakes, winking at his father and walking out of the doors. He looks behind him to make sure Gunter is following. Gunter reluctantly gets up and follows Usaym(edited) Usaym walks through the fruit tree’s before spotting a yellow/orange fruit, turning to Gunter he asked “have you had Mango before?” Gunter smiles and shakes his head. Jumping up, Usaym plucks off the fruit before reaching into his robe for a knife. He cuts the mango in two before using a knife technique to make it into cubes, he hands one half to Gunter. Gunter is fascinated by the shape and taste of the mango. "This is really good." Gunter says, his voice barely above a whisper Usaym bites into his own mango, juice dribbling down his chin. He wipes it off using a nearby leaf. “Yeah, it’s one of my favourites.” Walking again, they crossed a small bridge over a river. “So what do you do for fun in Astanmark?” Gunter shrugs "I play with my siblings. And read books." “That’s all?” Usaym seems shocked “don’t you swim or party with your friends, go on horse rides or do battle training?” "Yeah, I do. I know how to swim and ride horses fast. And I have a sword." Gunter says, trying poorly to impress Usaym Usaym smirks before beckoning for Gunter to follow him, he breaks into a run and follows the river down into a secluded grove of trees, where there is a deep natural pool and rocks surrounding it. A vine has been hung up on purpose and Usaym turns back to Gunter with a flint in his eyes, “well, shall we?” Gunter struggles to follow. Once he reaches Usaym, he looks confused. "Shall we what?" “Swim of course,” Usaym strips down into his linen under garments before climbing the rocks at the side of the pool, jumping with the vine he swung across the water before falling in with a huge splash. Gunter reluctantly follows him into the pool. Usaym breaks out into a laugh before motioning to the vine “go on, you should try.” "Okay..." Gunter says shyly before doing what Usaym suggested. He falls in with a big splash Usaym leans over and ruffles Gunter’s hair, “you’re less of a wimp than I thought.” Gunter smiles Usaym hoiks Gunter up and throws him back into the water. Gunter splashes water on Usaym, laughing and having a good time “Follow me,” Usaym calls out to Gunter before getting out of the pool, not bothering to dry off he makes his way over to a large tree that has a ladder dangling besides it. “Climb up,” he said to Gunter.(edited) Gunter does so. "What's this?" Usaym follows Gunter into a small tree house, barely big enough for the two, almost fully grown, boys. It was covered in miscellaneous bits of rugs and pillows “It’s a tree house I built when I was 14, I wasn’t on the best of terms with my father and needed a place to escape.” Usaym lounges back against the pillows. Gunter leans back too and looks around. "It's very nice." “Nice?” Usaym repeats in mock horror, “it’s majestic, that’s what it is.” "Yes, majestic." “You should relax a bit more,” Usaym friendly elbows Gunter, “you’re too uptight.” "I.....okay." Gunter relaxes his muscles and leans back even more, enjoying the view. In the distance, a man riding an Arabian horse is seen galloping right towards the palace “So tell me Gunter...” Usaym leans on his elbows next to the boy, “ever done something rebellious? Rogue? Crazy? Something daddy wouldn’t like?” "Um..." Gunter tenses up "No..." “Oh come on, you must be hiding a secret or a craving in that pretty little head of yours, a guilty pleasure perhaps?” "I.....um..." Gunter's heartbeat increases "No, nothing at all..." “Does the idea excite you Gunter?” Usaym leans closer, “being rebellious.” Usaym is close to Gunter’s face, Usaym’s head nearly brushing his before Usaym abruptly pulled away, a smirk on his lips.(edited) Gunter is now intimidated and somewhat frightened. "No....." “Come on Gunter, if you could do anything you wanted right now, what would you do.” "Nothing.....nothing at all...." “Eh, you’re no fun Gunty.” Gunter shrugs. Meanwhile, the belligerent man riding towards the palace at full speed is almost at the gates “So, one last dip in the pool?” "I'd rather go back to the palace..." Usaym groans before hauling himself out of the tree house, “it seems that Astanmark May be more different to Aegyptus than I thought.” They start walking back to the palace. The man on the horse has arrived at the gates. He carries a short sword with him and is demanding to be let in. As soon as Usaym see’s the man arguing with the palace guards he draws out his own sword, “stay back,” he told Gunter before walking towards the men. “Is there a problem here?” Gunter seems to recognize the man. "Let me in! How do you not know me?!" The man shouts at the palace guards, ignoring Usaym Usaym glares at the man before stepping in between him and the palace guards, “I said, is there a problem here.” The man looks scornfully at Usaym "What's a child doing here?" “This child happens to own the very land you’re standing on,” Usaym chuckles. "Oh yeah?" The man dismounts the horse. "Do you know who I am, boy?" “Of course I don’t, you haven’t told us your name yet have you?” The man glares at him. "I am Benver Alaric, premier ambassador of Astanmark and handler of all foreign affairs. Do you know my great great grandfather? He used to be the ruler of all of Astanmark until rebels deposed of him." Benver speaks with unrestrained pride and seems to be confident in all things he utters Usaym turns to Gunter “Gunty, is what this man speaks of true?” "Yes. I've known him for most of my life." Gunter responds Usaym nods and in quick Arabic ordered the guards to fall back and lower their weapons. “Follow me,” he walked up to the palace quickly “what is so urgent at this time of day?” "I'm supposed to be having a meeting with the Sultan." Benver says, sword still in hand. Usaym stared at the man “no you’re not. He’s in meetings the whole afternoon and they certainly aren’t with you. I think I’m going to have to get you to drop that sword now.” "Excuse me?" Benver looks shocked by Usaym's assertion. "Listen here boy, I brought an envoy and they're supposed to be waiting for me." His voice is marked by arrogance and contempt “How do I know you’re not here to assassinate my father? Why didn’t you arrive with the rest of them?” Usaym asked, doubtful of the man. Gunter looks scared. Benver clenches his fists "How dare you make such accusations against a man of nobility! I am a man of honor and praise, I'm not some hired mercenary! Gunter, bring me my envoy right now." Gunter quickly nods and runs off to where the rest of the diplomats are Usaym stands his ground “I’m not undermining your nobility, just anyone can walk in here and claim they’re part of an envoy from a foreign nation just to try and assassinate or kidnap a royal, we have had many attempts over the years and there are undoubtedly many to come.” Benver laughs "Why would I do something so stupid? This place is crawling with guards! Only a blind fool would even consider assassination or kidnapping a sultan surrounded by trained guards." Usaym shrugs before running his hands over his sword “better safe than sorry? As an intelligent man you should understand that.’ "Listen here, boy. I need you to stop wasting my time. Actually, go fetch me some water. I'm thirsty." “I’m not just some servant, you can order around.” "Well you certainly seem like one!" Just then, two Arab men rush up to the palace gates and spot their white horse. They also point at Benver. "Hey! That man stole our horse!" Usaym grins widely at Benver, “stealing is a criminal offence in Aegyptus, I suppose the palace prisons it is.” Usaym turns round to the two men, “take the horse, if you come back here tomorrow morning at sun-high you will be reimbursed properly by the Sultan. Just this certain Astanmarkian is a little bit temperamental.” "I needed it to come here! Surely a case of necessity would be excused, right?" Benver says The other Astanian diplomats along with Gunter arrive to see the commotion “Against the law, my friend, and having the crown prince as a verifiable witness and The fact that I can testify to your unique personality might not bode well to your case. If I was you I’d start shaping up fast.” "Did I hear about a case of theft?" Jochen asks “Yes, he stole a horse from two fine Arabian men, just innocent citizens of Aegyptus.” Jochen seems alarmed, almost panicking. He pulls Benver close to him "Benver! You know that they cut off hands for theft here!" Usaym smiles wickedly, “So this angry man is part of your brigade?” "Erm, yes he is." One of the diplomat says "Nonsense! If they even dare to cut off anything of me, they'll see what I'll have King Rudiger do!" Benver shouts back and Jochen “Well according to him I should go and fetch him water like a boy, now is it just me that doesn’t feel like he’s respectful?” “Ordering around a crown prince, tut tut.” "Yes, go fetch some water. An insolent bastard like you ought to be a servant, or even a slave! You have no respect for people of nobility like me. Now get going!" Benver says Jochen elbows Benver "Shut up, Benver!" Malik finally arrives as he could hear the argument from his office, walking down the stairs his brother behind him he manages to catch Benver’s last little tirade. “No one talks to my son like that!” Malik shouted, stalking across to where Benver was “who do you think you are.” Malik also slaps a hand across Usaym’s sword that had come to rest a little too comfortably in his palm. Benver looks at Malik and smiles "Me? Why I'm the chief ambassador of Astanmark. I handle all foreign affairs, and these men right here are under my authority." “Well your men have certainly conducted themselves with more grace and respect than you have, I’d watch your tongue when talking to the House of Bolkiah.” "I'd say the same thing to your son right here when talking to the House of Alaric." “My son can be hot tempered at times, but he is a mere boy,” Usaym snorted at that but Malik punched him in the shoulder “and you are a man. And need I remind you that you are on my land, our land, soon to be his land Allah help us. And you are a guest here.” "Why yes, I am a guest. And guests ought to be treated with respect, aren't they?" Benver glares at Usaym as he says that “Regardless of what happened between you and my son, you are now being disrespectful towards me. Cut it out.” He turns to one of the diplomats “I shall be writing a missive to your king to assure him we wish to have strong and understanding relations but how there was an objective, unrespectful man among you and paired with my hot tempered young son it did not end well.” Benver steps in front of Malik "Now now, you really don't want to do that your majesty. All diplomatic letters go through me first. I am independent government control and I establish relations as I see fit. With your current attitude towards me, nothing will be accomplished. And I will remind you that I have nothing against your house except your rude son." “You and him both need to respond accordingly, I will punish him myself. Do you really wish to endanger relations with a country who could be so beneficial to your own? I do not care how rude he has been, you are now being rude to me and that is inexcusable.” "I have done nothing that is rude to you, your majesty. It is you who is endangering our two nations' relationship! I humbly ask you to drop the attitude and treat me like the rightful guest I am." “Enough is enough,” Malik snapped his fingers for two guards, “take him down to the palace dungeons for the night, and treat him like a guest, that should be enough to humble him.” "What the hell? I'm being arrested?! I'm the chief ambassador of Astanmark! I have my rights!" Malik ignores Benver and turns to the guards again “and if he gets too loud, you know what you have to do.” The guards each take one of Benver’s arms and lead him down a long trek to the side of the palace where the dungeons are situated. "This won't end well for you, Malik! Once King Rudiger gets news of my unwarranted arrest, he'll surely bring his wrath to you!" Benver shouts as he is led away. The other diplomats plead with Malik to forgive Enver. Malik shrugs, “nothing bad will happen to him, we’re not savages you know. A few mice scurrying around and a damp dark cell should be enough to knock some sense into him. Now, I meant to inquire about doing a diplomatic exchange, where one of our representatives goes to Astanmark, and one of yours stays here. This way the real stories are heard.” "I....I...." Jochen is trying to find the right words but is unable to “Is everything quite alright?” "I......King Rudiger won't be pleased to find out his chief ambassador is locked away...." Jochen says. Even Gunter looks fearful. “I’m sure if he knew the real story it will be fine, besides, we are important economic and military allies, I’m sure your king knows this. Besides I’m doing him a favour, Benver would have started more wars than he would solve.” "No, you don't understand." Jochen leans in and whispers in Malik's ear. "The Alaric family is quite wealthy and powerful. They even lent some money to the Hannes House so we can effectively govern and keep order. Why do you think King Rudiger appointed someone like Benver to such a high position? There were clearly some benefits to it, but now those benefits disappear because Benver is arrested. You're not really angering the Hannes.....you're angering the Alarics...."(edited) Malik mused to himself before turning back to Jochen “surely you can go back to the King and say Benver made such a good impression on us we asked for him to personally stay in Alexandria as a representative of Astanmark. Rest assured, he will be well cared for here, a few days scavenging in the desert always does more good than harm.” "Um....King Rudiger will surely punish us severely if we did that.....just please forgive him."(edited) “How can I forgive him and make sure the correct story is told back to the king? Sure my son can be a bit hot tempered at times but his heart is in the right place and he would never be like this without someone provoking him. I do not want to risk damage to his reputation.” "Your excellency, we will tell the correct story even if it meant that we would be whipped. But please, don't anger the Alaric family. Please your majesty.." Malik does a waft with his hand “fine, but please allow him to stay in the cells just till nightfall.” "Sir, if King Rudiger discovers that Benver spent a night in jail, he would start having doubts about your nation's reliability and trustworthiness. We don't mean to offend you by any means, but this is the reality. The Alarics are qite influential...."(edited) Malik sighed and turned to a pair of guards and spoke in quick Arabic before turning back “I won’t have him staying under my roof tonight, he can find other quarters however my hospitality still extends to all of you.” "Thank you, your majesty. We greatly appreciate this." Gunter looks somewhat relieved. Malik turns to the diplomats “shall we discuss the possibility of an exchange diplomacy? And Gunter, I’m sure you’re exhausted. Usaym can show you to your room.” Gunter reluctantly follows Usaym. Benver reappears from the dungeon. "Oh God, it stinks down there!" Usaym turns awkwardly to Gunter “about uh earlier, I’m sorry I think I came on a bit too strong.” He holds open a door for Gunter as they walk through the palace “I don’t think I realised the difference between our two nations and how we have both been raised.” Gunter says nothing and follow him Exasperated Usaym shows Gunter into his room and leans against the doorframe “what more can I say?” Gunter just shrugs and sits on the bed. He doesn't feel too comfortable in Usaym's presence. Usaym sits on the floor and leaves the door open “I really am sorry Gunter, I’m a bit too stubborn and emotional to usually realise stuff till it’s too late.” Gunter looks at him. "It's alright.....I have a cousin like you. Sometimes it's difficult to deal with him...." Usaym’s eyebrows raise “he doesn’t... hurt you, does he?” "What? No. He's just.....different." “Different?” Usaym asks, curious as to what bracket Gunter put him into. "Yes....he was born different." “Different? What do you mean, different.” "Something's off in his mind. The doctors say that demons occasionally possess him..." “Rest assured there’s no demons in my mind Gunter.” "If you say so....." “Gunter, liking the company of both men and women isn’t me being possessed by demons. Wanting to live life to its full isn’t me being possessed by demons. Me not knowing when to stop is just my social awareness, it has nothing to do with demons.” "That's what they say...." “They’re wrong Gunter, don’t listen to them.” Usaym is almost pleading with him “you know it isn’t wrong, deep down.” Gunter just turns away “What can I do to persuade you?” "I'm not bargaining my beliefs..." “I’m not demonic Gunter, do you trust me?” "I just want to sleep..." “I’ll get a servant to bring up some food and drinks,” Usaym walked out of the door but not before calling “good night.” Gunter just lays down and gets lost in his thoughts. What was wrong with him? Did Usaym's rambling have a semblance of truth? Sultan Malik invites the Astanmarkians for a lunch feast with his advisors the next day, but the boys were too young to join them so instead Malik suggested they pack some lunch and go out on a ride along the palaces more untamed land. Gunter followed behind Usaym. He hasn't ever ridden across the desert, save for when he arrived in Alexandria. The scenery enthralled him. Gunter wakes up early in the morning and eats his breakfast. He goes to find Usaym Usaym was waiting besides the stables for Gunter, his own dark brown Arabian, Kadar, was already tacked up. "Good morning, Usaym." Gunter seems to be in a happier mood today "Are we riding somewhere?" Usaym seems taken aback by Gunter’s happy mood but nods his own greeting “morning, I thought we’d ride out through some grassy plains to the edge of the desert.” "Okay. Seems like a good idea." “Do you want to borrow a horse? Ours all have appropriate casual tack for this sort of outing?” "Yes, thank you." Usaym gestures towards rows filled with horses “what sort of riding level are you? Do you prefer mares or geldings?” "I like geldings." Usaym nods before leading Gunter down to a certain row of stalls, “we have Azhar who’s harmless but can be a bit dreamy and lazy, Fakhir who is a bit up-strung and cocky though an excellent mover and Muti who is very reliable and obedient.” Gunter examines each horse "I think I'll take......Muti." Usaym nods, and takes a tall, beautiful bay Arabian gelding out of the stall and ties him up outside. He makes quick work of tacking him up. The Arabian was quite a bit taller than Gunter, and the fence was a while away. “Do you need a leg up to climb on?” "Yes, thank you." Gunter positions himself Usaym holds out the palm of his hands above his knee as he partially bends down, waiting for Gunter to step on so he could boost him up. Gunter steps on and swings his leg over the saddle. He sits comfortably "Thank you, Usaym." Usaym draws a hand quickly through his hair “it’s no problem, here just ride over to where Kadar is and I’ll hop on.” Usaym jogs back to his own steed, and uses the fence as a prop to push himself up onto the horses back. Gunter wished he was as athletic as Usaym. But he shakes those thoughts off. "Let's go." Usaym leads them down a trail next to the stables, it’s single file through a small glade of trees until they reach the grassy land, where the trail widens enough for them to ride side by side. Gunter rides to Usaym's left and enjoys the gentle breeze. He is at ease here, unlike back in Astanmark. Usaym breaks the silence awkwardly, “so, are you enjoying it here? I understand how different it is here compared to your home.” Gunter waits a few moments before answering. "Yes....yes I do. It's so peaceful here. I feel so free." Usaym cracks a smile at this “yeah I guess it is. Though I’ve never really known anything different.” "Back in Astanmark, everyone is always hurrying to places. There's just too much stress. I need a wide open space like this." “You could always ask for a big garden of your own or a park as a gift from your father? Just to open up the space a bit more. Perhaps a country house or something similar.” Gunter smiles "It's not always that easy for me. Sometimes getting things like those require effort. And even then, it's not a guarantee." Usaym drops his head, embarrassed, “sorry I forget that not everyone has the same upbringing, that was inconsiderate of me.” "Don't worry, Usaym. We all make mistakes." Usaym smiles gratefully at this, “we do, but some more than others.” Gunter chuckles. "Let's stop here. I want to sit down and enjoy the breeze." Usaym nods “I can tie up the horses,” he produces a rounded stick with some nails on it and a hammer from the saddle bag. He hammers the stick in place a little while away and ties up both horses in the makeshift rungs from the nails. Gunter dismounts and watches Usaym "Let me help you." Usaym hands the hammer to Gunter gratefully. Gunter helps in tying up the horses “Would you like lunch yet? Or we can wait till we get nearer the desert.” "I am a bit hungry." Usaym looks into the saddle bag but realises they didn’t pack a blanket, just food so there was no where to lay out the lunch. “There’s nothing to put the lunch on so we can use my robe.” Usaym pulls off his robe and lays it out on the ground, leaving him in nothing but white linen undergarment trousers hanging loosely below his six pack. He begins to un pack the flatbread, various dips, cured meats and goats cheese that he and the kitchen staff had preparedGunter watches Usaym preparing the food with intent but looks away Usaym feels Gunter’s gaze on him but by the time he turns around it already has gone, he settled down cross legged across from Gunter. “I hope the food is to your liking.” "Oh yes, it's delicious." Gunter takes small bites and eats respectfully Usaym helps himself to a bit of everything, piling it all on before he ate it in wolfishly big bites. Gunter seems to be amused by Usaym's eating habits and laughs Usaym looks up, some goats cheese covers the corner of his right lip and the skin around it. “What’s so funny?” He asks, pleased at the sight of Gunter laughing. "You eat just like my aunt." “Well your aunt must be an extremely graceful eater then,” Usaym chuckles, making fun of himself. Gunter laughs at that. He finishes his meal then looks up towards the sky. "How long until sunset?" “It shouldn’t be long, though we should comfortably reach the desert by then. We should get going about now.” Usaym packs everything away but his robe is now dirty and slightly wet from some water he spilt, he chooses to instead hang it over the back of his saddle. Gunter mounts his horse and resumes the journey with Usaym They trot along down the trail and are nearly there, but they near a bend where there is a ditch. On one side there is a river and the other side there is a fence for a farm. “I think we have to jump it.” "Okay...." Gunter says, looking a little nervous Sensing Gunter’s discomfort, Usaym offers “I could jump it first, climb back along the fence and then we could ride and jump it together?” "Okay." He says, easing up a little “If you stay to the side by the river,” Usaym motions for Gunter to back away a little as he pulls his own horse around and trots back up a reasonable distance. Turning round to face the ditch, Usaym moves into a trot, then a canter before reaching a gallop, he perches himself up in the saddle and leans forward onto the horses neck as Kadar jumps the ditch. Patting Kadar’s neck, he ties him up further along the fence before climbing onto the fence and shimmying past the ditch, back onto the other side where Gunter was. Gunter is impressed by Usaym's abilities. “If you bring yourself round to the fence, and shimmy forward in the saddle, I should be able to slide in behind you.” "Alright." Gunter does as he is told Usaym tries to carefully slide in behind Gunter, so they were both sitting snug in the saddle. Reaching round Gunter he took control of the reins. “I’m going to have to hook my legs over yours if you want to stay in the saddle.” "Okay." Gunter's heart beats harder and he breathes faster Usaym carefully manoeuvres his thighs over Gunter’s and can feel himself beginning to sweat. Shaking his head he brings the horse away from the ditch and turns it back around, going into a trot, canter and then a gallop they hurtle towards the ditch and as they jump Usaym brings his arm around Gunter to study both of them for landing. Safely getting to the other side, Usaym breathes a sigh of relief but unconsciously doesn’t release his hold. Gunter feels both uncomfortable and a sense of belonging. "Usaym....I....." Usaym now realises what he is doing, and relaxes his hold slightly but still can’t bring himself to tear away. “Gunter?” "I.....I.....nevermind." “What?” "No, nothing. Let's just continue." “It sounded pretty serious,” Usaym rubbed the back of Gunter’s shoulder with one hand absentmindedly, with his other arm still wrapped around his front. Gunter feels a rush of an emotion he quite can't understand. He has never experienced this before. "No, don't worry Usaym....." “Are you sure?” Usaym sighs “if you say so.” "Yes, I'm sure." Gunter quickly replies, but in reality he was not so sure.. “I should be getting back to my own steed,” Usaym chuckles, but still doesn’t move from where he is sitting, something inside of him felt secure at that moment, satisfied. Gunter leans back into Usaym, for reasons he himself doesn't know. It just felt...... Usaym feels shocked as he feels the weight of Gunter leaning into him, he moved his hand off of his shoulder and wrapped both around his front once more, unhooking his thighs from over Gunter’s so the position was more comfortable. It was like magic, like nothing he had ever experienced before. Gunter closes his eyes. "Usaym....I feel strange..." “Ssh just relax,” Usaym whispered. ooc wow... sniff ... beautiful Gunter relaxes his muscles. He feels free.....he found solace..... They stay like that for a while, until the light begins to fade and the rays of the setting sun startle Usaym back to reality. “We have to go now Gunter.” Gunter seems to be interrupted. "Now?" “Yes, we need to be back by nightfall,” Usaym pats Gunter’s shoulder gently and rubs a hand through Gunter’s hair before jumping off the back of the horse and onto his own. "Oh....alright." Gunter says with a rather melancholy tone. It feels like something abruptly left him... Leading Gunter onwards, as it was a circular path, Usaym felt somber at the fact the boy was not in his arms anymore, glancing up at Gunter, he felt something pang inside him. Gunter looks back at Usaym and catches him watching. Gunter smiles As they get to just behind the stables, Usaym stops abruptly and motions for Gunter to do the same before getting off of his horse. Usaym does so. He is confused "Something wrong?" Usaym doesn’t say anything, instead he motions for Gunter as well, to dismount. Gunter dismounts and walks over to Usaym "Is everything alright?" As soon as Gunter dismounted, Usaym gathered him up in a bear hug. Arms tightly around Gunter and his face in the crook of his neck. Gunter is shocked but doesn't resist. "Usaym.....I.....I...." “I’m sorry, I just had to hold you one last time... for today.” Usaym pulls away from the hug and leads both horses into the stables and gives them away to servants to tack down. Gunter grabs onto Usaym's arm "Usaym.....I want to tell you something..." Usaym turns around, surprised at Gunter’s forwardness, “I-uh yes?” Gunter leans in "You...I....." He stutters. He can't seem to find the right words. Usaym watches on, confused. Gunter leans in further "Usaym....." Usaym can’t help himself from moving in closer. Gunter does the same. He is overtaken by ecstasy and pulls Usaym closer Gunter can't restrain himself any longer. He plants a quick kiss on Usaym's lips and suddenly pulls back(edited) Usaym stares at Gunter, open mouthed and touching the spot where Gunter’s lips had just been. “Gunter-I,” Usaym is suddenly reminded where they are by a servant walking dangerously close. He pulls Gunter behind him and quickly gives away the two horses to be tacked down before they begin the walk back through the palace gardens. "I....I need to go now." Gunder quickly walks away "I'll see you tomorrow, Usaym" “I- I... see you.” Gunter briskly walks back into the palace. He can't believe what he had done. He feels both shame and pride. As he turns the corner, he encounters Benver, who is smiling maniacally. "I saw that, boy." Benver says in a threatening manner. "I saw that."